


smitten kitten

by meredithflynn



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adorable Louis Tomlinson, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hybrid Louis, Innocent Louis, Kitten Louis, Light Angst, M/M, Possessive Harry, Protective Harry, Protective Liam, Sleepy Cuddles, Smitten Harry, Smitten Louis Tomlinson, louis is extremely adorable, this is so fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25068091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithflynn/pseuds/meredithflynn
Summary: louis is a little kitten hybrid. harry is a sweet, protective boy. and they're both absolutely smitten with each other.aka the cutest kitten!louis fanfic
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 12
Kudos: 69





	1. where our story begins

**Author's Note:**

> this is a spin-off of the "smitten kitten" oneshots that i wrote in my oneshot book on wattpad, and subsequently published them as a book on here. you may have noticed that there's another "smitten kitten" book on my profile, which is the book i previously published with my oneshot chapters, but this is the proper book telling the story from the beginning. many of you (and myself included!) wanted me to turn it into a full, proper book so here it is, along with all of the previous chapters i wrote put into chronological order with the rest of the story. 
> 
> please comment your honest feedback and request some things you'd like to see in the future! it's extremely helpful for me and encourages me to keep writing :)

It was raining, and Geoff Payne had forgotten his umbrella at home.

Luckily for him, it was only a slight drizzle, but he still walked as fast as he could, hands shoved into the pockets of his long coat as he walked back home. He was passing by an alleyway when he heard a quiet sniffle, making him stop and look around. The rest of the street was quite deserted, and he was about to start walking again when he heard another sniffle.

He turned his head and looked into the alleyway, where among the dumpsters was a large cardboard box that seemed to be shaking. Geoff rubbed his eyes, sure that it was just his imagination, but when he looked again, the box was still moving slightly. There was another sniffle, and Geoff was _sure_ it was coming from that box. 

He thought about leaving it alone and just going home - it was raining after all - but curiosity got the better of him and he approached the cardboard box carefully. He bent down and reached for the box, heart in his mouth, and opened it to reveal a... kitten?

No, whatever was in there was too big to be a kitten or a cat - in fact, it was the size of a small human, but the first thing Geoff could see where fluffy, caramel kitten ears. The creature in the box looked up at Geoff, fear in its beautiful blue eyes. It had the face and body of a boy, but the ears of a cat, and Geoff recalled reading about so-called "kitten hybrids" in the newspapers - cruel, illegal experiments where crazy scientists merged a human with a cat. This creature must have been one of the hybrids that had been created before the operation had been shut down.

"Hey there, little guy." Geoff held his hands up to show he wasn't a threat. "What are you doing here?"

The little hybrid didn't say a word, and instead shrunk into his cardboard box, starting to cry silently. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I'm not going to hurt you," Geoff said, reaching out to gently pet the kitten. The kitten looked terrified of Geoff's hand, but allowed himself to be petted. 

"Are you out here all by yourself?" Geoff asked.

The kitten nodded.

"Do you have any home to go to?"

The kitten shook his head sadly, staring at his lap.

Geoff bit his lip. The kitten hybrid looked so sad and lonely and scared and it just felt wrong to leave him there. "Do you want to come home with me?"

The kitten looked up, eyes wide. He stared at Geoff and tilted his head, like he was trying to see if Geoff was joking.

"I'm not kidding, love. You look like you need a home and I think my wife and children would be willing to help you." Geoff tried to convey his sincerity in his words, hoping that he would be able to get this boy to trust him.

After a minute or two of deliberation, the kitten slowly nodded his head, deciding that he didn't have anything to lose. He'd take the chance and follow this kind-looking stranger.

"Good." Geoff smiled and reached a hand out for the kitten to take. "My home's not far from here."

The kitten took Geoff's hand hesitantly, but didn't make any move to leave his cardboard box. Geoff raised his eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything and simply leaned down to pick the hybrid up. The hybrid let out a pained whine and automatically kicked his legs out, making Geoff stop and look at the kitten worriedly.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The kitten stayed silent, but his eyes filled with tears. 

"Do you want to walk?" Geoff realized that perhaps his grip on the kitten's body had accidentally aggravated some injuries.

The kitten shook his head, his legs feeling too weak and tired. Geoff sighed, wondering how he was going to manage this. "Okay, I'll carry you. I'll try to be as gentle as possible, but please try to understand that I don't know where you're hurting and I don't mean to hurt you on purpose if I accidentally touch your wounds."

The kitten nodded silently and tried to stay quiet as Geoff carefully lifted him up into his arms, ignoring the pain when Geoff's nails accidentally dug into a bruise on the kitten's leg. Geoff hoped the hybrid would relax, but the kitten stayed tense and rigid, still scared of Geoff even though the kitten trusted him enough to let himself be carried by the man.

With the kitten out of the box, Geoff could see the hybrid's body more clearly. The hybrid also had a caramel, fluffy tail, and he was practically skin and bones. His clothes were wet and dirty and he was covered in cuts and bruises.

They left the alleyway and Geoff resumed his fast walking, using part of his coat to cover the kitten's head to protect him from the drizzling rain. They soon arrived at the Paynes' house, where Karen greeted them at the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the tiny kitten hybrid hiding under Geoff's coat.

"Geoff... who is that? _What_ is that?"

"Shhh." Geoff was worried that the kitten might be offended by Karen's words. "Remember seeing in the news about those scientists illegally breeding humans and cats?"

"Mhmm. They did it for years and years before they were shut down, right?"

"Yeah, well, this little guy here is probably one of the hybrids that were created. He must have escaped when the police shut the operation down. I found him in a box in the alleyway and I couldn't just leave him there." 

The kitten eyed Karen carefully, eyes filled with fear when Karen reached out to pet him.

"I think he's scared of being touched," Geoff said, and Karen quickly retracted her hand.

"The poor thing, he looks so scared." Karen tried to make her voice low and soothing. "Hey there, sweetie. I'm Karen, what's your name?"

The kitten was silent, looking bewildered.

"I haven't heard him say a word, maybe he's mute or maybe he's just too scared to talk. We'll work on that later - we should figure out what we're going to do first," Geoff said. "Where are the kids?"

"Upstairs somewhere." Karen walked to the stairs and shouted, "Guys! Come down here."

The three siblings came down the stairs, and they all looked surprised when they saw the kitten hybrid, who was sitting on the couch. Karen had laid down a few towels on the couch so the kitten wouldn't dirty the couch too much, and she'd also put on a few cartoons. The kitten was captivated by the bright colors and watched the show intently, not even realizing that Liam, Nicole, and Ruth were there.

"I-is that a kitten hybrid?" Liam whispered, staring at the fluffy ears sticking out of the kitten's hair. 

"I think so." Geoff led them into the dining table so the hybrid wouldn't hear their conversation. "I found him in the street and I couldn't just leave him there, but I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do with him."

"Bring him to one of those centers?" Ruth suggested. "They'll know about kitten hybrids and what to do with them. There's a center twenty minutes from here."

"Should we give him a bath and some clean clothes first? He looks like he needs one," Nicole said. "And some food, too."

"Alright, then. Ruth, Nicole, you guys go find some food for him. Liam, go get some clothes that might fit him, and I'll go run a bath," Karen instructed. "Geoff, go take a shower. You're all wet from the rain."

"Yes, ma'am." The family saluted their mother and ran off to go complete their duties. Before Geoff went upstairs to take a shower, he knelt next to the couch and gently pet the kitten's head.

"I don't know what kind of things you've gone through or how long you've been alone and living on the streets, but you're here with us now and we're going to take care of you, okay?. You're never going to have to live on the streets again, so relax - you're in good hands, I promise."

The kitten still didn't say anything, but he relaxed slightly at Geoff's words, blue eyes filled with gratitude. Geoff smiled and got up, going upstairs for a shower. He sincerely hoped he and his family would be able to live up to his promise and take care of this lonely kitten who so desperately needed their help.


	2. when harry met louis

When Harry got a text from Liam saying that the Paynes' had found a kitten hybrid, and if Harry wanted to meet the kitten, he was immediately intrigued. Just like everyone else, he'd seen the reports about illegal merging of kittens and humans on the telly, but he'd never actually seen a hybrid in real life.

Harry grabbed his umbrella, and with a quick "goodbye" to his mum and sister, he slipped out of the front door and walked to the Paynes' house, hoping to catch a glimpse of a real life kitten hybrid and see what it was like.

A minute or two after Harry knocked the door, no one had opened the door for him and he was starting to get a little impatient, but then Liam answered the door and greeted his best friend. "Hey, H. Here to see the kitten?"

"Yup." Harry closed his umbrella and shucked off his shoes. "What took you so long to answer the door?"

"We're trying to give the kitty a bath before we go to the center, and we were all in the bathroom upstairs." Liam closed the door after Harry. "I didn't even hear your knocking at first."

"Oh, okay." Harry ran a hand through his curls. "How's the bathing going?"

Liam huffed. "Not good. He's refusing and is actually really distressed, he's crying and whining and panicking and we don't know what to do."

"Is it because he's half cat and cats don't like water?"

Liam shrugged. "I mean, that's probably a factor, but I have another theory. Having a bath requires the kitty to take off his clothes - we were going to take off everything but his underwear, his clothes are really dirty anyway so we want to get them off. We asked him to take them off and he wouldn't, so we tried to help him do it, but then he started screaming and crying. He hasn't talked yet, so I don't know for sure, but..." Liam's voice suddenly became hushed. "I think... I don't know, but I have a feeling someone really hurt the kitty before."

Harry could hear pitiful, pained cries from upstairs and he immediately felt sorry for the hybrid. "Is this a bad time, then? I can come back and meet the kitten after you guys have sorted everything out."

"You can stay if you want." Liam started towards the stairs. "We might need another pair of helping hands later."

"I can see if I can calm the hybrid down?" Harry suggested. "Dogs and cats usually like me, so maybe the same thing will apply with the kitten hybrid."

"Yeah, okay. None of us have been able to calm him down, so maybe you can." Liam and Harry made their way upstairs, where the rest of the Paynes and the kitten hybrid were in the bathroom. Liam knocked on the bathroom door and opened it.

The kitten was backed against the wall, tears streaming down his face as the Paynes tried to calm him down with promises that they weren't trying to hurt him. At the sound of the door opening, the kitten looked up at spotted Harry, and momentarily stopped crying as he stared at the green-eyed boy. Harry slowly walked towards the hybrid and knelt down, the others backing away to give Harry some space.

"Hey there," Harry said in a low, soothing voice.

The kitten eyed Harry, eyes flitting nervously between Harry and the Paynes that were standing behind Harry. Harry suddenly understood and turned around, saying to the Paynes, "Do you guys mind leaving the room for a bit? I think he's overwhelmed by the amount of people here."

"Yeah, okay." Karen nodded and ushered her and the rest of her family out, closing the door gently behind them. 

Harry turned back to the kitten. "There, is that better?"

The kitten gave the slightest nod and visibly relaxed.

Harry sat down on the bathroom floor and studied the hybrid carefully, amazed at how the boy had caramel ears and a tail. The kitten's eyes were so blue, his lips were so pink, his nose was so cute, and Harry felt an instant pull towards the little hybrid. The kitten was studying Harry too, blue eyes wide and apprehensive, but something about this tall, curly-haired stranger attracted the kitten to him. His presence was so reassuring and he smelled so yummy.

"I'm Harry, what's your name?" Harry asked.

The kitten moistened his lips and opened his mouth for a few seconds, before he spoke for the first time, slowly stuttering out, "L-Louis' name i-is Louis." The kitten's voice was soft, quiet, high-pitched and raspy, and Harry thought it was the most endearing sound.

Harry smiled warmly. "That's a nice name. I like it."

Louis tilted his head cutely. "H-Harry like?"

Harry nodded. "Mhmm. It suits you."

Louis looked a bit confused, but said, "Okey dokey."

Harry chuckled. "You're adorable."

The kitten's cheeks flushed a pretty pink. "Thank."

Fascinated with Louis' ears, Harry reached out a hand. "Can I...?"

"H-Harry not gonna h-hurt Lou?"

"No! Of course not!" Harry was taken aback at even the suggestion of harming the little kitten. "Just... never seen a kitty like you before."

Louis hesitated, then said, "Okay. Harry can touch."

Harry reached forward and gently carded his fingers through Louis' soft hair and scratched the fluffy caramel ears, making Louis purr and lean into Harry's touch. Harry opened up his arms and let Louis crawl into his lap, snuggling with the kitten and scratching his ears. A few minutes later, Louis had fallen asleep in Harry's lap, face buried in Harry's chest and tiny hands clutching tightly at Harry's shirt.

Behind him, the bathroom door creaked open and Karen poked her head in to check on them after several minutes of silence. "Are you guys doing okay?"

"Hmm?" Harry turned around. "Oh, yeah. Louis fell asleep."

"Louis?" Karen looked puzzled.

"That's his name." 

"He talked to you?" Karen's voice was filled with excitement.

"Yeah, I think he trusted me enough to talk to me. His voice is really cute and soft."

"You're a lifesaver, Harry, thank you for calming him down and finally getting him to talk," Karen said. "Poor Louis, he must be exhausted from all of the excitement and crying today. How about you carry him downstairs? It must be uncomfortable sitting on the bathroom floor."

So Harry carried the little kitten downstairs to the couch, where he was about to set Louis down on the couch and let go, but the kitten whined in his sleep and grabbed onto Harry's finger, refusing to let go. All of the Paynes cooed at Louis' subconscious clinginess, and Harry let out a small huff of laughter, resolving to cuddle Louis for his entire nap.

When the kitten finally woke up, he looked up blearily at Harry and yawned, covering his mouth with his dainty little hands.

"Hey there." Harry looked down at the kitten fondly. "Have a good nap?"

"Mm." Louis snuggled closer to Harry. " 'arry comfy."

"Good." Harry stroked Louis' hair and hummed. "Listen, Louis, you need to take a bath."

The tiny kitten froze. "B-bath?"

"Sweetie, you're all dirty and you need to get clean. I promise, we're not going to hurt you, we just want to clean you up and give you some new clothes," Harry said. 

"L-Louis don't want bath."

"We'll be really careful."

"N-no."

Harry sighed. "Please? For me?"

Louis wavered for a few seconds, before relenting with a small, "Okey dokey."

Harry carried Louis back up to the bathroom, where Karen and Ruth were waiting with a warm bath. They stripped Louis down to his boxers, and gasped in horror at the amount of cuts and bruises that covered Louis' small frame. He looked so fragile and skinny, but they decided not to comment on it lest they triggered Louis, and Harry lifted Louis into the bathtub.

Louis was still a bit sleepy from the nap and leaned against the side of the tub while Karen and Ruth bathed him, Harry holding his hand to provide some moral support. When they were done, they wrapped him in a big, white, fluffy towel and dressed him in some of Liam's clothes, which were almost double the size of Louis' body and swallowed him up.

Louis insisted on being carried by Harry and Harry willingly obliged, letting the kitten scramble into his arms and tuck himself under Harry's chin for comfort. He hummed, swaying Louis in his arms. "There, you look so much better. Doesn't it feel nice to be clean?"

"Hmm." Louis yawned again and buried his face into Harry's chest.

Harry laughed, placing a chaste kiss on Louis' soft hair and resting his cheek on top of his head. He was so smitten with this little kitten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honest feedback is appreciated!


	3. it'll only hurt a bit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is awful i'm sorry

After Louis had been cleaned up and dressed in some comfy, soft clothes, it was time to bring him to the rescue center. All of the Paynes piled into the SUV, with Harry somehow being towed along, carrying the little kitten in his arms.

"W-where we goin'?" Louis' tail was wrapped tightly around his torso for comfort, eyes darting around nervously. 

Harry slipped into the car and put Louis in the seat next to him, helping the smaller boy fasten his seatbelt. "We're going to the rescue center."

"What that?"

"It's a place where they help kittens like you," Liam explained as Geoff started driving.

Louis tilted his head. He hadn't talked to anyone but Harry yet, but Liam looked warm and soft, like a puppy. Plus, Harry had said that Liam was a friend, and everything Harry said was right. "H-help Louis?"

"Mhmm." Liam's eyes widened at the kitten speaking to him, but kept calm so he wouldn't startle Louis. "They'll know how we can take care of you and make sure you're comfy." 

Louis hugged his knees to his chest. "They won't h-hurt Lou?"

"Of course not!" Harry reassured him. "They're very nice people, I promise. And if they're being mean, we'll protect you, okay?"

"Pinky promise?" Louis held out his pinky finger. 

"Pinky promise," Harry linked his pinky with Louis'. "It's okay, love. Don't worry, you're safe now."

When they got to the rescue center, Harry lifted Louis out of the car and held the kitten's small hand in his, following after the rest of the Paynes into the center. The receptionist gave them a warm smile and said, "Hello! What can I do for you?"

Karen cleared her throat. "Well, we found a kitten hybrid."

The receptionist perked up immediately. "A kitten hybrid? Did you bring it here?"

"Yes, we did actually." Karen turned around to look at Louis, who was hiding behind Harry's legs. Harry nudged Louis forward and the kitten eyed the receptionist with a terrified look on his face.

"Hello, little one! What's your name?" The receptionist stood up so she could lean over her desk and have a better look at the hybrid.

Louis trembled with fear, lips shut tightly. Harry knelt down next to him and placed a gentle hand on his back. "Can you tell the nice lady your name?" Louis whimpered and buried his face into Harry's chest, wanting to be comforted. "Sorry," Harry said to the receptionist apologetically. "He's really shy and timid. His name is Louis."

"It's alright, it's understandable." The receptionist moved towards the door near her desk. "Will you follow me, please?" She led them into an office and introduced them to a woman called Lola, who knew the most about kitten hybrids in the center and would be able to help Louis.

Louis sat curled up in Harry's lap, overwhelmed by the amount of new people he'd met in a day, only fully trusting Harry. Everyone else seemed really nice, too, but Harry smelled good and he was extremely comfortable. Lola asked a few questions about where they'd found Louis, what state he was in when they found him, and how he behaved. Louis paid the questions no mind, occupied with playing with the necklace that Harry wore.

"Louis seems to have an extra special relationship with Harry," Ruth told Lola. "He trusts Harry the most, but he's still a little wary around the rest of us."

"Harry is your brother?"

"He's my brother's best friend."

"Oh. Well, it is a good thing that Louis has formed a special connection with Harry, it's very helpful to make Louis feel safer and adapt to new environments if he has someone that can calm him down," Lola said, typing away.

Louis started listening at the mention of his and Harry's name, and turned to Harry. "What that mean?" he whispered into Harry's ear, although he was a terrible whisperer and everyone else heard him.

"It means Ms. Lola is very glad we found each other, love." Harry tapped Louis' nose gently

"Louis glad too."

Everyone around them cooed at the two and Louis snuggled closer to Harry. "So what's the next step?" Geoff asked Lola.

"Well... first, we need to give Louis his shots."

Louis' ears immediately shot up. "S-shots?"

"They're not as bad as they sound, kitten," Harry said quickly. "They're to make sure you won't get sick so easily. You don't want to be sick, do you?"

"Nuh uh." Louis shook his head. "But Louis don't want s-shots too."

"You won't feel them much, dear," Lola piped up. "Have you had shots before?"

"Louis don't think so."

"It's even more important that he gets them, then," Lola said, directing her words to the Paynes. "We'll have to do them in stages, but we can take care of a few shots today."

Louis' ears flattened back into his hair. "Louis cans say no?"

"I'm afraid not, honey." Lola gave Louis a pitiful look. "They're extremely important and you need to get them. They only hurt a little and it only hurts for a second."

" 'arry." Louis tugged desperately on Harry's sleeve to get his attention. "Mean lady wanna h-hurt Louis with s-stupid shots!"

"She doesn't want to _hurt_ you Lou, she wants to help you," Harry said, trying to soothe the kitten.

"N-no! She said _hurt_!"

"Lou, honey, for her to help you it has to hurt a little. But you won't really feel it!"

Louis whined and pulled away from Harry, hurt in his eyes when he realized that Harry was siding with the mean lady with the shots. "B-but Harry _pinky promised_!"

"Kitten, I promised to protect you from mean people and Ms. Lola isn't a mean person," Harry tried, rubbing Louis' back. "She's trying to help you, remember?"

"No! She trying to _hurting_ Louis! Mean Lola! Mean Harry!" the kitten wailed, suddenly hopping of Harry's lap and running out of the room. Everyone stood up, worried and prepared to run after him, but Lola gestured for them to sit down.

"Let him go. He needs some time to calm down," she said. "Our receptionist will make sure he doesn't leave the center. You have to understand, today's been very overwhelming for him. He used to live in a cardboard box and now he's met a big family who wants to give him shots."

"Poor Louis." Harry plopped back down into his chair. "Does he hate me?"

"On the contrary, he loves you." Lola turned away from her computer and pulled out some slips from her desk. "That's why he's so upset at your so-called betrayal."

"Well, what do we do now?" Nicole asked, concerned. "We can't _force_ him to take his shots, can we?"

"After he's calmed down, Harry and I will go find him," Lola instructed. "He'll be scared if there's too many people, he trusts Harry the most, and I'm the expert. We'll try to convince him we don't want to hurt him, and we can bring him back to my office and explain what the vaccine will do, so he knows it's for his own good."

"Sounds logical." Geoff scratched his chin. "Um, question - are all kitten hybrids like Louis? You know - childlike?"

"No, not all." Lola looked around her desk and pulled out a file. "Some kitten hybrids are very intelligent and well-spoken, but that's because they were part of an experiment that was trying to test how intelligent the hybrids could be, and the scientists gave them proper education. However, all of the other kittens who aren't part of experiments like those don't receive any kind of education. The hybrids take care of each other, you know, so some of the intelligent hybrids will try to teach the others, but there are some kittens like Louis who just end up resembling a human toddler. It may be the lack of education and care, or it may be something in their genetic makeup." She flipped open the file and showed them a picture of another kitten hybrid. "For example, this hybrid, Pauline, acts and talks like an ordinary human adult. But her friend, Charlie, still only has the intelligence of an eleven-year-old, no matter how much education we give him."

"So Louis is like Charlie?"

Lola shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see. But don't worry, even if Louis is like Charlie, it isn't a problem. They may not be able to do math or have a wide vocabulary, but they are all smart creatures with very good survival skills and big hearts."

A few more minutes later, Lola and Harry left her office in search of Louis. They found him sitting behind a potted plant, curled up in a tiny ball and sobbing. He looked so small and sad and it broke Harry's heart. He approached the kitten slowly and squatted down next to him, making Louis squeak in fright. "Hey, kitten."

"Please don't h-hurt Louis," Louis begged. "Louis can be good, promise."

"Little one, we aren't trying to hurt you. We don't want to hurt you." Harry snaked a hand out to gently card his fingers through Louis' hair, and the kitten leaned into his touch. "Don't you trust me?"

Louis hiccuped. "Mean Harry."

"Oh, baby, I promise I'm not mean. Remember how I gave you all those cuddles? That wasn't mean, was it?"

Louis hesitantly shook his head.

"I promise it's just a big misunderstanding, we're trying to help you," Harry murmured, heart melting at the big, innocent, blue eyes staring up at him. "Will you please come with us so we can explain how we're going to help you?"

Louis sniffled and thought for a minute, then said, "Harry carry?"

"Of course, Lou." Harry held out his arms and Louis quickly scrambled into Harry's embrace, comforted by Harry's scent and warmth. Harry stood up with Louis in his arms and Lola flashed him a thumbs up, mouthing _Good job!_ and leading them back into her office.

Back in Lola's office, they tried their best to explain vaccines to Louis. "What we're going to do is put a little bit of germs inside you," Lola said.

"Germ bad," Louis commented.

"Yes, that's right! But these germs are weak germs and your body will fight back and kill them," she continued. "So if strong germs come, your body will remember how to fight them."

Louis chewed on his bottom lip. "How germ come in?"

"We use a needle to inject it inside you."

Louis looked up at Harry. "Harry want Louis to get shots?"

"Yes, they're very important," Harry said.

Louis chewed on his lip a bit more, then said, "Okey dokey. Louis will do."

*****

Louis was perched on Harry's lap, face buried in his chest and arm held out for the nurse. He was shaking, but Harry stroked his back and whispered comforting words in the kitten's ear as he watched the nurse prepare the needle. They'd decided to was probably best if Louis didn't see the needle, so Harry made sure Louis didn't move his head, although it wasn't a hard job as Louis was extremely comfortable with his head tucked under Harry's chin. They were going to do a few vaccines in one day and schedule several more visits so Louis could get all of his necessary shots. 

The nurse wiped Louis' upper arm with an alcohol swab and said, "It'll only hurt a bit, dear."

Louis jumped a little when the needle pricked his skin, tears filling his eyes but not falling. Harry praised the kitten for staying still and placed a few kisses in his fluffy hair. "That's one shot, sweetie. Just two more."

Louis wrapped himself tighter around Harry and didn't say a word, preparing himself for more shots. A few more minutes later, Harry carried Louis out of the room and into Lola's office, where the Paynes were waiting.

"Are you okay, honey?" Karen looked anxiously at the kitten.

"He's alright, just a little upset," Harry answered for Louis, setting the kitten down on a chair. Louis was pouting, but his pout disappeared when Lola whipped out a lollipop from her drawer and gave it to Louis.

"Lolly! Thank Lola," Louis said happily, unwrapping the candy and popping it into his mouth. Harry chuckled and sat down next to the kitten, and Louis immediately crawled into his lap.

"There, it wasn't so bad, was it?"


End file.
